The present invention relates generally to fluid treatment systems, such as water treatment systems including water softeners, and more particularly to a sensor assembly for a water softener system. It is recognized that many aspects of the present invention can be applied to other types of fluid treatment systems, such as filtering or de-ionizing systems.
Water softeners are well known in the art and typically include a raw water source, a treatment tank containing an ion exchange resin, a brine tank containing a brine solution, and a control valve for directing fluids between the source, the tanks and a drain or other output.
Water softening occurs by running water through the ion exchange resin, which replaces the calcium and magnesium cations in the water with sodium cations. As the ion exchange process continues, the resin eventually loses its capacity to soften water and must be replenished with sodium cations. The process by which the calcium and magnesium ions are removed, the capacity of the ion exchange resin to soften water is restored, and the sodium ions are replenished is known as regeneration.
During regeneration, brine, a concentrated or saturated salt solution, is passed through the ion exchange resin and the cations in the resin are replaced with sodium ions. Regeneration is a multi-step process incorporating a number of cycles, specifically, backwash, brine draw, rinse and refill cycles.
Typically, water softener systems include a treatment tank and a brine tank regulated by a single controller. Accordingly, when more than one treatment tank is desired (i.e., for enabling continuous servicing of the system, or for commercial or large residential applications), supplementary controllers are necessary for each additional treatment tank. Such applications increase manufacture cost of the system and the eventual cost to the user or consumer.